Before I Die
by Blue Zephyr
Summary: The death of Marlene McKinnon


Before I Die

Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

She was going to die.

This was certainty. This was fact.

The bodies of her family lay around her, spread out in the room that would be her last living memory, the place that would become her memorial if the Death Eaters allowed it to stand. They wouldn't, she knew this, every trace of her would be destroyed, every single drop that put her family on this earth would be obliterated and all that would be left was a space. An empty charred space, which wizarding families would walk passed and go 'That was where the McKinnon family made their last stand. That was where the McKinnon family died.'.

She pulled her eyes away from her soon to be murderer. He wouldn't need her attention for this. To him killing her would be akin to swatting a fly that had been buzzing around the room. She was insignificant to this moment, her death would be the only thing that mattered, yet as she looked around the room at the still bodies of her Mother, her Father, an odd Uncle who'd just popped over for tea and lastly her Brother she wanted to scream, to fight, to shout 'We were here!'. Scream it loud enough that every time someone strolled past they would hear it, they would stop and for just a moment, they would listen.

Her murderer said something. She knew what it was. She knew she would never answer so why even bother wasting her last moments acknowledging him and his ridiculous question. Another voice sounded out from the side. Her murderer wasn't alone, he'd brought friends. Then again, Death Eater's always did. He said something again. Marlene closed her eyes as well as her ears and allowed her mind to travel back to a moment that would take her away from the pain that seared across her body as well as her heart.

A memory, a fleeting memory of a boy she once loved and how he'd grown into a man who she still loved, a man who wouldn't follow her path. A man who was a coward in so many ways, turning away from her and marrying someone else but still crawling back to her bed.

He was a coward and she was weak, they were perfect.

As she kept her eyes closed she could see them as they must have looked that morning lying in her bed. He was smoking one of those ridiculous muggle cigarettes that his wife detested. She could see his dark hair fanned out on the soft crisp white pillow, his lips moving as he talked and smiled. She could feel his skin under her fingers. His lips on hers as his hands moved over her body. His face floated over hers, his voice filled her ears and she felt as long as these memories stayed she could face the death that awaited her.

"Where are they?" he asked, his voice soothing as he brought his lips down to her ear "Tell me," he whispered "tell me where they are, then this can end."

She didn't dare open her eyes in case that image left, in case his voice became someone else's "I don't know, I don't know." She breathed back one bloody hand coming out to touch his face, feeling it under her fingertips.

"Yes, you do. If you tell me, this can be over, we can be together."

"No," a new pain seared across her chest "I...your family."

"We'll take Daphne with us. You and I can raise her. Just tell me what you know about them." His voice caressed her, his hands wandered over her body and she ached, ached for what he was promising. Them, his daughter, a family. She couldn't though, couldn't betray what she knew, she couldn't betray her friends.

"I love you." She said her hold body shaking with pain, exhaustion "I love you."

"Then, tell me." His voice insisted "Tell me, they'll let you live. We can be together, I promise."

Marlene wished she could believe those promises but she couldn't. They weren't real. He was somewhere else living a life she was about to give up "I love you." She said one more time before letting the memory go, feeling the sensations of warm float away as she opened her eyes and looked straight up at her murderer "I' am a member of the Order of the Phoenix, I 'am Marlene McKinnon and I will die before telling you anything."

She found the familiar eyes of her Murderer as the green flash slithered towards her like a serpent.

A/N: I don't really expect a whole lot of reviews, though a few would be lovely :)


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